BrettRants

The Muse of Money

I'm not a greedy corporate lawyer.
I don't even play one on TV.

What is Art?

I like the big philosophical questions... perhaps entirely because they don't have answers, none that humans can latch onto with any degree of certainty; and thus, these sort of intellectual inquiries allow me to swim and play amongst the shining stars of abstraction.

But a naive definition of Art might revolve around the definition of what one does for One's own sake and/or Art's sake.

For example, in some sense, I write this page for it's own sake. But for the most, that is a lie. I really write this page, because as ineffectual as it might be, deep down I believe writing these words is the best way for me to overcome certain unavoidable obstacles (the ever present Existential Dilemna), the best way for me to attain certain goals (the perfection of the writing craft), and/or the best way for me to fulfil my narcissistic desire to convince complete strangers (including those who as yet remain unborn) that I am among the Cognizant-i.

So, you see. I don't write just for the fun of it.

Nor do I exercise just for the fun of it or the joy of moving my body. Though, there is a large measure of both. But in the end, if moving my body was not a precondition for having the body I wanted, I think I'd much rather laze on the beach than run through the water. Just saying.

Thus, to say Art is that which one does regardless of the monetary outcome, seems naive... or worse, an act of self delusion.

If I was better at chasing money, I would spend more time chasing money. And that is the simple truth. But being piss-poor at attaining monetary remuneration, the effort involved in securing the same is hardly worth the effort (for me).

Perhaps (yes, but just, perhaps), that needs to change. And this page's central purpose it to offer a few insights into that particular dilemma: monetary remuneration at the most extravagant level.

How to Do Anything

Step 1: Do something!

Step 2: Are you closer to your goal?

If Yes: Refine and repeat.

If No: Go back to Step 1 and try something else.

Oh, please feel free to read a book or do some research; but in the end, making money, learning to program, losing weight, or doing whatever is as simple as the above. Find out what works (for you) and do it... better and better and better.

How to Make Money

Money is an anything, so to make money, all one must do is follow the above steps. Notice how the word 'passion' is not used anywhere. It's not nearly as important as focusing on the reiteration of the refinement (clumsy phrase that). Or sure, feel free to claim to be 'passionate about making money', but it's a fairly meaningless statement.

To make more money in an ever upward spiral:

Follow the sales.

Follow the market.

Follow the money.

How to Make Big Money

I am interested in programming. As you may be aware, in the last several decades, vast fortunes have been made in the computer industry. Thus, How to Get Rich Quickly is a frequent topic of conversation amongst programmers (and likely every human alive today) with 'Does it scale?' being (perhaps) computerize for, 'Can I retire on this idea?' The answer is almost universally, 'No.' Still, bigger fools than I proffer advice, so let me tell you the trick to amassing a vast fortune in the computer industry.

Step 1: Consolidate!

group together disparate money making ventures and/or industries into a single market/platform that is more efficient

Step 2: Share the Wealth!

return almost all of the savings to customers, suppliers, governmental institutions, and charities

This second step trips many would be millionaires up, so let me expand on that a little. If all one does is gather the money together, then one becomes a target themselves, ripe for the picking. But if one, say you, aligns themselves with the right allies... well, let's just say, Together We Prosper, and divided... there is no we (or something witty like that).

So with exposition of that calibre behind us, perhaps one (meaning, I) would do better stepping through the logic of an alliance:

An industry has many suppliers.

Each supplier makes a modest profit.

A consolidator takes over the entire industry.

Now, the consolidator looks to make staggering profits.

But no, we're missing a step.

In order to consolidate the market, the consolidator had to reduce the price to the consumers in the first place.

And in order to be treated favourable by the marketplace (and the market makers, i.e. the government, existing players, etc.), the consolidator had to give something back to society at large (via taxes, endowments, national pride, etc.)

So, what's really happens when a consolidator takes over a billion dollar business (just as a for instance, could be a billion, could be a ka-zillion), they wind up giving most of that back to the users of the business (i.e. a more efficient business model is utilized) and whole heck of a lot of the remaining profit (almost all of it) is passed on to allies (investors, governmental institutions, charities, etc.). But not to fret, because as a sort of social reward for a job well done, the consolidator is frequently allowed to retain a small boon (often measured in fractional percentage points, but when splitting up a ka-zillion, even a fraction of a fraction is money enough).

Got that?

Why is Venture Capital funding a common step on the path to riches?

Because it is during the Venture Capital Funding Step that one's allies are enlisted by promises (enforced by contractual obligations) to share any future profits. And without those allies, one usually gets crushed (by competitors that were successful in enlisting those very same allies, who major purpose in life so often seems to be the crushing of one's competitors).

So, making money is simple. It is (as they say) a solved problem.

But what does all this have to do with muses?

Well, perhaps nothing.

I suppose it matters which sort of muses one happens to run with...

Mystery of the Muse

In which, the Mysteries of the Universe are revealed.

That image there. That's an orange. I saw in a trash can down Chinatown ways. I thought about grabbing it. It looked good, tasty, like it might be very juicy and succulent. But I did not grab the orange. So, close... but in the end, I felt, sight unseen, that there was some real chance that the back side was damaged, someone had taken a bite out of it, or it was poisoned (yes, I read Snow White one too many times as a child); and so, I left that succulent orange in the garbage can.

What does this have to do with muses?

What does this have to do with making money?

Muses flock to those who will appreciate them. Don't want to eat oranges out of trash cans? Well, I can't say that I can blame you. But if that's going to be your attitude, don't be surprised if you don't find fresh fruit stacked by the side of the street on a regular basis, ripe (get it) for the picking. Which, once again, is exactly what they do down Chinatown ways. At the end of the day, they pile the unsold and mostly rotted fruits and vegetables by the side of the roads. And if one gets there at the right time, it's amazing what one can find. And if one gets there at the wrong time, well, let's just say, some folks don't like to share.

Yes. This probably has nothing to do with muses... only it does. I could write this page or not. Was this page worthy of my time?

Don't answer that!

Let me put it another way. Whether or not this specific page was worth my time, I would be willing to bet that the next idea for a page would not come nearly as readily to me if I did not pursue this page first. Call it Writer's Block or the Muses holding a grudge, going on strike, and taking their ideas elsewhere:

'Darn fool human wouldn't know a good idea if you hit him in the back of the head with it.'

And that's the Mystery of the Muse. The more one heeds The Call of the Muse, the more frequently they will come a calling. It's as simple as that.

What is Art?

Oh, no. Here we go again.

I won't define art... because that would be too hard (or more to the point, completely unclear). So rather, I will make a circular observation.

As the inner life of an artist shines ever more brightly (whatever in the heck that's supposed to mean), the more the mundane the rest of the and the drudgeries of the day to day become (or does it only appear to become duller and duller). Thus, I shall call art, that which is the by-product of this inner life, that which is not only a by-product of that inner life, but a necessary component of it's creation.

This last comment might seem debatable, but I have spent my whole life in the world of fantasy and dreams. And so, I believe I can say with some degree of authority that writing, living, playing, and/or acting The Story enriches The Story and allows the artist (i.e. the story teller) to go further and farther in their art (i.e. the story) than they would have been able to otherwise.

Thus, Art is the by-product of an artistic being. It is the flotsam created along the way of artistic self-enrichment.

Eh, that may be unclear.

Eh, I think at the end of half these rants, I think to myself, 'Eh, that may be unclear'.

Whatever.
I told you how to do Anything.
From there, I told you how to make Money.
And it's the same for Art: the more the merrier.